


Phoenix Rising

by Princess_Aria_Night



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2019-11-12 17:05:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18014891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess_Aria_Night/pseuds/Princess_Aria_Night
Summary: “JAMES POTTER!” I bellowed as I started climbing the stairs towards the pair of pranksters.James promptly dropped his wand and squealed “Mum!?” before looking back and seeing me. His face paled and he scrambled to collect his bag and wand.“Whatever it is, it was Scamander I swear!” And with that, James Potter, Quidditch Captain, school heartthrob, and Witch Weekly's Most Eligible Bachelor, turned tail and ran.---A story of friendship, betrayal, love and all around fun as a group of young witches and wizards come together to learn the truth of ones past and another's future.





	1. Departed

**Author's Note:**

> This story is my escape from life. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

\-------

My footsteps echoed out across the platform as I took my first steps onto Kings Cross Station. Other than the small handful of attendants mulling about, the platform was completely empty. 

Arriving this early hadn't been my original plan, but I had run out of ways to entertain myself before boarding. Still, I hadn't expected to be the only one here. Glancing above my head, I read the dusty metal sign hanging there. _Platform 9 ¾,_ yep, this was definitely the place.

Scanning the platform I looked for a secluded place to wait for the train to open it doors. My gaze fell upon an old bench by the front of the train and I made my way towards it. I settled down beside my trunk and pulled a book from my bag to try to read while waiting. 

A few minutes had passed and my eyes were still fixed on the same spot. I simply sat boring holes into the page without comprehending any of its words, my mind was elsewhere.  
Slowly the sounds of the station began to dull and the pulsing of my own heartbeat rose above everything else, reverberating like drums in my ears.  
_  
This is really happening._

_I'm going to Hogwarts._

_I'm going to finally have a chance to discover my past._

_\-----_

_I had always known I wasn't really a Parish._

_It didn't have to be said, it was simply known. But I loved my parents dearly, even if they weren't my blood._

_My mum is a world renowned Magizoologist. Her work is the reason we spent the last six years in Africa. And dad is an inventor, a brilliant one. Every Christmas he gifts me something one of a kind, a magical artifact made just for me._

_Both of my parents were Swedish. They had fair skin with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. A picturesque rendition of the perfect porcelain couple._

_I however, looked nothing like them._

_I was born with skin that loved the sun. My mom liked to say that tan was my natural color. I had high cheekbones and wide mahogany brown eyes. My hair was only slightly lighter than my eyes and thick like a horses mane. And in the last few years I had allowed it to grow long enough to reach my lower back._

_I've always felt plain in comparison to the beautiful women in my life. At home I had my mother, who was drop dead gorgeous, and at school I was surrounded by dark skinned beauties who attracted all of the boys. I supposed I could look acceptable to a certain type of man, but on a day to day basis I don't turn many heads._

_I've never minded that though. I was just glad to have a school to go to. I'd always been homeschooled as my parents traveled the wilderness, following whatever magical beast my mom was searching for at the time. But when we'd come to Africa my parents had enrolled me in Uagadou._

_Although I loved my classes, I never really fit in with the other students at the beginning. So few of them knew English, which made communication nearly impossible. My parents had noticed my sullen demeanor and quickly realised it's cause._

_That Christmas was the year my dad gifted me with my Lexicon Clavis. A beautiful necklace with a small intricately detailed cube hanging from it. A truly amazing magical artifact made for me alone._

_It was a key to all the world's language's. Whenever someone spoke in a language that the wearer did not know, it would translate the sound of their voice before it reaching the users ears. It could then repeat the process whenever the wearer spoke as well._

_I loved my lexicon dearly, and I would always treasure the gesture of its creation. As my father had known how important making friends was to me, that he sacrificed so much time and effort to create something so intricate in such a short period of time. It was yet another example of my parents love for me, which I had never doubted._

_So when I'd found a letter, with my name beautifully scripted on the envelope, tucked away in a dusty box of photos. I was hurt to find that my parents had kept it from me for all these years._

_The letter itself was written to me. It was an acceptance letter for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When I asked them about it they simply told me that my birth parents had attended Hogwarts, and therefore the letter had come as no surprise to them. They had simply wanted me to remain close, and therefore decided not to tell me._

_I dwelled on the letter for days. What were my birth parents like? Were they still alive? Could I meet them? I would never be able to replace my mom and dad, but I had always been curious about where I'd come from.  
Which is why I made a decision to find out for myself._

_Understandably, my parents were both upset when I told them I wanted to go to Hogwarts the following year. But after many spats and nights of groveling they had finally agreed to let me transfer._

_Three months later I was in London, staying at a pub named the Leaky Cauldron and picking up my supplies in a bustling Diagon Alley. Until finally on the first of September I made my way here, to Kings Cross Station. Admittedly I may have arrived a bit early, but I was simply too full of excitement to wait any longer._

_I was one step closer to finding out who I was._

\---

The sudden hum of excited voices broke my train of thought. Looking up from my book I found the sound was due to the arrival of a dozen or so witches and wizards arriving onto the platform. 

One man in particular stood out to me. He had a large camera slung over his shoulder and was holding a notepad. He was watching the students and their families like a wild predator. Waiting for one of them to stray far enough away from their parents for him to pounce. 

I watched him over the top of my book, it seemed he wasn't interested in just any student. He was scanning the faces for someone in particular.. Sadly though, as he scanned the platform, his eyes met mine, and I regretted it immediately. He began briskly walking toward my spot away from the hustle and bustle. 

I decided it was time to board the train. I calmly closed my book and replaced it into my bag. Pretending as if I had never noticed the man making his way towards me across the platform I stood, levitated my trunk behind me, and began walking towards the only train attendant I could see. 

She was a short woman with a pleasant round face. However, upon noticing my approach the woman hurriedly looked away, suddenly very focused on brushing off a spot on her uniform. 

She was going to pretend she hadn't seen me. 

_Well that's just rude._

I waited. I had nowhere else to go. 

“Ma'am may I ask you a few questions?” a voice asked from behind me.

“No.” I replied flatly. A faint chuckle came from the man who circled around to face me. 

“I was simply wondering if you happened to know the eldest Potter boy?” His voice was nasally and it fit his oily appearance perfectly.

“No.” My voice was harder this time. “Now please bugger off.” 

I could hear the man chuckling softly as he passed by me again, leaving me to my own annoyance. Which I directed towards the attendant who was still busy pretending I didn’t exist.

“Oi! Can I please board now?” 

My sharp tone startled the woman. If she hadn't been ignoring me I would have felt a little remorseful. But the greasy reporter had set me on edge and I really just wanted a quiet place to sit down.

I could read the conflict on the attendants face, she was trying to think of a nice way to tell me no. However, before she could respond a bright flash of light blinded my vision momentarily, causing me to flinch and grit my teeth. The slow glare I shot over my shoulder at the reporter didn't even make him budge as he shot me a smirk and stalked off to find his next target.

 _Great._ I thought. _That's going to be a right lovely photograph._

Noticing my obvious discomfort with the situation the woman climbed down to the bottom step and glanced around us. She then gave me a small wave, signaling me to lean in. 

Once I was within a few inches of her she quickly whispered. “No ones to board the train until the conductor gives the okay. But if you head straight to the back and keep your head down an door shut I'll make sure no-one bothers ya. Alright?”

I quickly nodded. “I'm elusive on the best of days, I promise no-one will even know I'm on board.”

She flashed me a quick smile and stepped to the side, quickly ushering me up the steps. With a flick of her wand my trunk disappeared, she didn't miss my surprised expression. “It'll be waiting for you at the castle don't worry dear. Now hurry along before your seen!” Doing as told I hurried my way to the back of the train. It was eerie how empty it was. I imagined that would change soon enough with all the students that would be boarding. Finally reaching the last compartment I ducked in and slid the door closed behind me. 

Letting out a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding in I sank down into the seat. The man had unnerved me greatly and I'm thoroughly grateful the attendant had allowed me to board. All I want now is a few minutes to collect myself. Leaning my head back against the worn out seat leather I focused on taking a few deep breaths. 

When I opened my eyes I was met with a peculiar sight. Rather than the empty shelf that should have been above my head I found myself looking into into a pair of enchanting large green eyes.

“Hello.”

The cat didn't respond, it simply stared at me. 

“Sorry for barging in on you. My names Ariana.”

The cat responded with nothing more than a blink as it watched me from the shelf above my head.

“Well, suit yourself.” I yawned. “I'm going to take a nap. Feel free to join me if you'd like.”

Placing my bag against the wall as a makeshift pillow. I laid back on the seat and kicked my feet up on the other end of my bench. 

“Wake me up when the other students start boarding Chaton.” I closed my eyes and tried to relax.

_No response. I like this cat._

\--

Muffled laughter from further up the train woke me from my sleep.

I stretched my arms above my head and took turns stretching each leg in the air. Naps always made any situation better, therefore I always woke up from them in a cheerful mood. 

I spotted my furry friend curled up on the seat across from me. It's large green eyes were watching me lazily.

“Oh, I'm sorry did I wake you? Well too bad, considering you were supposed to wake me, honestly I'm the one who should be upset.” I bantered playfully.

I reached over and scratched behind its ear. 

“It's alright though, I forgive you. But only because you're gorgeous.” 

Which was true. The cat was large, it's long legs and back stretched lazily covering over half of the bench seat. It's medium length coat was coal black and it's eyes a beautiful emerald green. It looked like a small panther, completely at ease with its surroundings, like it traveled the world by train on a daily basis.

Which made me wonder. “Do you live on this train? Or did you simply jump on at the station?” The cat watched me with discontent. He couldn't possibly live on the train, so he must be a stow away.

“I wonder if you'd like to come to school with me? I'm allowed a cat I believe.”

Ignoring me it slowly stood facing the back of the seat. Stretching out its long legs and raising its bum and tail in the air it stretched it's long back before settling back down in a sitting position.

_Well thanks for the view. At least I know you’re a male cat now.._

“I'll let you think about it. Until then I'll just call you Chat Noir.” Chat simply watched me with lackluster enthusiasm. His case of resting bitch face was serious.

_A cat after my own soul._

His eyes suddenly snapped away from mine to glare at the door. A silhouette on the other side told me our privacy was about to end. 

The compartment door slowly slid open to reveal a tall skinny girl. It's was obvious she was of mixed ethnicity, her skin was a light caramel and her hair was a soft curly afro. When she made eye contact with me she smiled, and I swear the tiny compartment got brighter when she did. 

“Oh hello! I’m so sorry I thought this compartment would be empty since it's at the back. Didn't mean to barge in on you!” She hastily apologized.

“That's alright, you're not the only one, I barged in on poor Chat here. At least you have proper manners about it. I'd say you're welcome to stay but you have to ask him as well.” I gestured to the cat sitting before me and the seat available next to him.

She glanced to Chat, who was looking utterly bored with our conversation. 

“Pay him no mind, he's just a bit of a prude.” I explained, smiling at the grumpy cat. “I think we may be soulmates.” I reached across the compartment to scratch under his chin. “What do you think love, would you like to be my soulmate?” Chat gave me a look that said he'd never heard of a less exciting idea in his life.

The girl laughed and entered the compartment. When he realised she intended to sit next to him he hissed and leapt across to my seat. I shot him a disapproving glare as he curled into a ball by the window. 

“Like I said, he's a prude.” I said matter of factly.

“That's alright, I love all animals, but I've learned to accept that not all animals will love me back.” She smiled as she watched Chat flick his tail at the sound of her voice. Then she extended a hand towards me. “My names Natsumi Hanson, I'm a 6th year Ravenclaw, how about you?”

Taking her outstretched hand I shook it. “My names Ariana, but please call me Aria or Ana. I'm not sure what house I'll be in, but I'm a 6th year as well.” 

“You're a transfer student then! That's amazing, where have you come from?” Her eyes lighting up with excitement as she talked. 

“Well we traveled a lot for my parents work. So I was homeschooled until I was 11, but once we moved to Africa for mums research I attended Uagadou.” 

I watched as her mouth fell slightly open and her eyes grew large as she stared at me without blinking for a moment. “Uagadou?”

“Yep..” I let the last letter pop off my lips as I tapped my knee nonchalantly. 

I hadn't expected anyone to care about my previous school. Quite frankly I hadn't expected anyone to know it existed. Her expression softened as she recovered, her mouth forming a knowing smile.

“You didn't think I would know what you were talking about did you?” She asked with a small smirk on her lips. “Well honestly most people probably won't. However my Gran is from Africa. And growing up she would tell us stories of the school in the clouds, carved by its founders into the side of the Mountains of the Moon. It's said to be the world's largest Wizarding school. And I also know that the students of Uagadou happen to have a unique curriculum based on teaching a few extra skills compared to most other wizarding schools. Isn't that right?” She questioned with her eyebrow raised and a humored expression on her face.

I couldn't hold back my smile, I liked her already. I glanced out the window as the Hogwarts Express let out a shrill whistle and began to slowly ease out of the station. At the back of the crowd of cheerful waving parents I could just make out the greasy reporter from earlier. By his sour expression I could assume he had never found his true target.

Picking up Chat up from his spot under the window, I placed him beside me with his top half in my lap, I couldn't fit all of him. He protested at first, but remained still once I started scratching behind his ears.

“I'll have you know I posses a great many skills, I could teach you some, but then I'd have to kill you.” I said the last part with a wink.

The corner of her mouth was still turned up in a sly smile as she regarded me for a few seconds and then we both began laughing. If she really knew anything about Uagadou then she knew I wasn't allowed to share its secrets. And I was grateful that she respected that.

Soon our laughter died away and the only sounds remaining was a gentle rumble coming from Chats chest and the clattering of the Hogwarts Express making its way along the track.

“I think he's growing fond of you.” She mused, watching as he turned his head this way and that to make sure every spot got scratched.

“I told you, we're soulmates. We both look grumpy on the outside, but really, all we want is to be pet, fed and allowed to sleep at any hour of the day, undisturbed, and in the best spot in the house.” I concluded.

Nats’ laughter was cut short by the sudden opening of our compartment door. Chat stood and turned abruptly in my lap, arching his back and growling at the boy standing in the doorway. He was tall and fit with a jawline to make a model envy. But his eyes were cunning as they lazily swept over me.

“Why hello darling.” The boy drawled. His voice was deep with an unmistakably American origin. 

“Hello.” I replied coolly. I had yet to break eye contact with him, I didn't know why but this boy made my hair stand on end. 

He wore a form fitted shirt that hugged his chest tightly and faded jeans but what piped my curiosity the most were his boots. Not cowboy boots like his accent suggested but leather high-top work boots. They made his simple attire look rugged and worn and suggested he didn't belong on this train but rather a forest somewhere trekking through the wilderness. 

When my gaze flicked back up to meet his I saw that the corners of his mouth had upturned into a devilish grin. I got the feeling he had mistaken my time spent contemplating his outfit as interest. My face pulled into a detested scowl before I could catch myself.

_What a pompous arse._

“I can't say I recall seeing you around Sweetheart.” His lazy tone implying he wasn't at all thrown off by my disgruntled expression.

“Once again I do pride myself on my elusiveness.” My voice trailed into a small chuckle at my own joke from earlier. 

His eyebrow quirked up at the inside joke he obviously couldn't follow. “Well that's just fine because I do always enjoy myself a good hunt.”

I couldn't help but laugh freely at his now shameless flirting attempt. 

“Listen Lad, I'm not sure how girls normally react to you but I have to warn you I'm no ones prey.” I rolled my eyes towards Nat who's disgusted facial expression told me she didn't particularly care for the boy either.

“You've got sass, I like that. But believe me love, I could make you very, very happy.” His eyes lazily looked me up and down again as he spoke. His tone was so suggestive that I had to concentrate on not gagging in response.

I returned his confident lopsided smile and replied in the best mock drawl I could manage, “Oh I know you could make me happy sugar, all you'd have to do is turn around and walk out that door and I'd be absolutely delighted.”

His dumbfounded expression was short lived, as he immediately scowled at the sound of Nats howling laughter filling the compartment. Behind him I could just pick out a few questioning glanced from other students interested in what was happening.

“Oh I see,” he scoffed while glaring at Nat “you're chasing for the wrong team.” Her laughter came to an abrupt halt and her eyes flicked to mine.

“What?” I asked, truly dumbfounded.

“Oh my, you didn't tell her?” He asked Nat in mock surprise. “Well that seems a bit misleading doesn't it?” His voice returning to a calm tone as he regarded Nat, who was holding eye contact with him, a look of mild disgust still on her face.

_Didn't tell me what? What does chasing for the wrong team mea… oh._

I scoffed, drawing his attention back to me.  
“You really assume that just because a girl has no interest in you she must be gay?” The corner of his lip twitched as I spoke, clearly unaffected by his shocking news. 

“I'll have you know that my lack of interest has nothing to do with the useless knob between your legs and everything to do with your abhorrent lack of redeeming qualities.” I gently stroked Chats back as I spoke. “Now, if you'd be so kind, please bugger off.” 

He opened his mouth to reply but before he was able to speak a strong hand clasped his shoulder, cutting his reply off.

“Oi, Liam! Why don't you leave these nice ladies alone before you make even more of an arse of yourself.” 

Liam turned towards the voice allowing me a view of the boy now standing behind him. 

_Good Lord is anyone in this school ugly?_

The newcomer was boyishly handsome to say the least. He looked like he belonged on the cover of Witch Weekly. His skin color was similar to Nats but his dusty brown hair looked touchably soft and was just long enough to cover the tips of his ears.

Leaning past Liam he reached his hand out towards me. “We're sorry to have disturbed you ladies. I'm Fred Weasley, I don't think we've met.” His smile was genuine and I felt comfortable with him despite his friends rude behavior prior. 

I returned his smile and shook his hand. 

“Ariana, we haven't met, I'm new.” I explained before leaning back into my seat and returning to petting Chat. 

“Hey Nat, had a good summer?” He questioned, nodding in her direction.

“You know me Fred, I always have a good time.” She replied. He laughed in response before turning back to me. 

“So with pleasantries aside, is there a reason our compart is suddenly the place to be?” I figured there was no point in dancing around the point.

If Fred was put off by my abruptness he didn't show it.  
Instead he smiled and opened his mouth to reply but instead Liam, who had been hovering just outside the compartment behind Fred, spoke up. “Yeah actually, we're looking for our Mate, he-” 

Liams voice cut out the moment I raised my finger. 

“I wasn't speaking to you. I was speaking to Fred. And considering you've been nothing but rude since arriving, _I would like you to leave._ ” Our eyes met and he stood frozen unsure of how to respond. I knew he had felt the emphasis I'd pushed into my words. I wasn't asking him to leave, I was telling him. His eyes flicked to Fred's for a brief moment before he scoffed and turned on his heel, muttering something under his breath as he stalked back up the train.

A nervous laugh from Fred redirected my attention to him as he watched his friend leave. “I'm sorry about his behavior, he isn't normally this much of a prick. But he's been acting like God's gift to women all summer. It's quite annoying really..” He said sheepishly. 

“Well at least his friends know he's an arse.” I replied.

“Yeah, that we do. Speaking of which, that's the reason we're here, have either of you seen James?” He asked a hopeful expression on his face.

Nat spoke up first. “I haven't, and I didn't notice any compartment being stalked by girls either, which is normally how one can find him.”

“Damn. Ariana?” His attention drawn to me again.

“Uhh. Who is James exactly?” 

No one answered me. They looked like I'd just told them my family didn't celebrate Christmas.

“Potter.” Replied Nat slowly as if it might help clarify which James I was getting him confused with.

“Well that's nice. Who is James Potter?” I asked again.

A few seconds ticked by before anyone spoke up.

“You don't know who James Potter is?” Fred asked with a smile forming on his face.

“No.” I replied bluntly. His smile was annoying considering nothing funny had been said. 

“Well then, when he does turn up you'll probably be his new favorite person.” He said with a laugh.

I raised my eyebrow questioningly at him. 

But it was Nat who responded by handed me a magazine and pointing firmly to the figure on the cover.

“James Sirius Potter.” She announced before continuing. “The eldest son of Harry Potter. He's currently ranked Witch Weekly's most eligible young bachelor. And he's also been chosen as the player to watch this year by Seeker Weekly. Even if he wasn't born famous his Quidditch skills alone would have been enough to get him there.” 

She wiggled the magazine at me, encouraging me to take it from her when she'd finished speaking, looking triumphant when I did. 

“He's the teenage heartthrob of our generation, girls have been throwing themselves at him since he first stepped foot on this train. Hence why it's hilarious that you have no idea who he is.” She finished with a smile.

“Oh, alright then..” I murmured quietly before inspecting the magazine I'd been handed. It was Seeker Weekly. And just as Nat had said the cover story was of one James Potter and his imminent rise to Quidditch fame.

The cover shot was a boy our age, shirtless and sweaty, wearing a pair of form fitting Quidditch trousers caked with dried mud. He was leaned up against a wall next to his broom while staring to his right like he was in the middle of talking to someone. The living photograph was a loop of him laughing while running a hand through his shaggy jet black hair. 

It was easy to see why so many girls had fallen for him. He was gorgeous. But as Liam had proven recently, a pretty face didn't make you an attractive person. 

“He has a nice jawline.” I announced matter of factly.

Fred burst into laughter immediately. “Really mate!? You're staring at a half naked photo of the Hogwarts Bachelor, the same photo may I add that was captioned as ‘Dripping sex!’, and the only thing you say is _'He has a nice jawline!?'_ ” He was doubled over laughing now. 

Chat, disgruntled by the amount of noise being made, hissed at Fred and jumped back to his original spot on the shelf above my head.

“My point, _Fred!_ ” I emphasised his name my hitting his knee with the magazine “Is that muscles are obtainable, but bone structure is something you're born with!” I finished my speech by tossing the magazine at him and he yelped in surprise. Nat and I exchanged glances and both began laughing as well.

The train ride was passing by quickly as Nat and Fred took the time to explain the basics of Hogwarts to me. I mentally took notes about the important details, the Forbidden Forest, Hogsmeade, the Room of Requirement.. but mostly Fred's side note about the house elves that run the kitchen. Apparently you could visit anytime you pleased by tickling a pear outside the door and they would be happy to feed you. I just hoped they took requests. Fred and Nat howled with laughter at my excitement after finding out the elves might make me macaroni and cheese. 

By the time they had begun talking about Quidditch I had began getting distracted by the scenery outside. It was beautiful here, and the temperature was so much cooler than Africa had been. I wasn't going to miss sweating as much. 

The sound of my new friends bickering about which Quidditch team was better filled the compartment. 

_I wonder if I'd be any good at Quidditch._

I've always been a decent flyer but I hated flying in the extreme heat. That and hardly anyone at Uagadou even knew how to fly. Brooms were an eastern invention that never caught on with the rest of the world. Instead apparition was the base means of travel and almost everyone could do it by the age of 13.

“Gryffindors team is going to be unbeatable this year. Yeah Jones was one hell of a Keeper but we'll find another. Besides with James as our new Captain we're only going to get better. Promise.” Fred announced proudly to Nat in a confident tone.

Her facial expression showed she was not as convinced. 

“We'll see.” She replied playfully. “Rose is wicked fast, and you may just find that she's able to get a few too many points on your new Keeper.” Fred only hummed thoughtfully in reply as he laid back in his seat. 

“Hey Fred, did you say you play Quidditch?” I asked suddenly, breaking the light banter. 

“Yep! I'm a Beater! Living up to my namesake the best I can!” he replied cheerfully.

“Do you think you'd mind teaching me the basics?” I asked. “I'm a decent flyer, but I've never actually seen a Quidditch match so I'm not entirely sure how it works.” 

“You've never seen a match before!?” He asked as his face fell in disbelief.

“Well you've never seen a Saran Taj match have you?” I asked pointedly.

“What's Saran Taj?” Fred asked with a furrowed brow and a glance to Bat showed she had no idea either.

“Exactly my point.” I said with a wink.

“Fair enough, but we're fixing this asap. Starting with the basics and then you're going to a Quidditch match first chance you get.” Once I agreed Fred continued to spend the rest of our train ride explaining to me the basics of Quidditch and how it's played. 

Nat and I were both relieved that Liam never returned from his search for his friend. Fred however seemed confident that he was fine and would be at school when they arrived.

\-----

“It's beautiful.” I announced.

I was leaned up against our compartment window watching as the train pulled closer to Hogwarts. It was getting dark outside but I could still see the castle. It was magnificent.

“Yeah, seeing it for the first time was pretty breathtaking.” Nat said.

When the train came to a stop Fred excused himself quickly saying he was going to try to spot James leaving the train. Nat and I were both gathering up our belongings when Chat jumped down from his perch. 

“Oh right. I have to ask if he belongs to any of the workers before I can bring him with me.” I told Nat.

“That's alright. It shouldn't take too long. I'll wait for you.” She said.

“No I don't want to keep you behind, I'll catch up to you. Go ahead.” I instructed motioning for her to shoo with my hands.  
She lifted her bag onto her shoulder “Alright, but hurry up. I don't want you getting lost along the way!” She said before leaving the compartment.

Picking up my own bag I turned to Chat. 

“Still want to come with me Chaton?”

He stared blankly at me for a few moments before meowing softly.

“Good enough! Let's go!” I exclaimed as I scooped him up and headed towards the front of the train.

\---

The sun had set completely by the time Chat and I were making our way to the castle.

After talking with the Conductor, the Trolley Witch, and a few of the steam hands we had come to the conclusion that no-one had seen Chat before. He must have jumped on the train while it was docked at Kings Cross.

That was fine by me, as I was growing quite attached to him. With Chat held securely in my arms I was almost jogging trying to get to the castle. Dinner surely had to have started by now.

Once I reached the doors to the entrance hall I could hear a loud voice announcing names from inside double doors to my right. I quickly ducked beside the marble stairs leading further into the school and set Chat down. 

“Okay I know you can't understand me but please stay here.” I motioned towards the corner I had set him. Chat looked around for a moment before flicking his tail and walking away.

“Wait!” I squeaked in dismay grabbing him around his middle. “This isn't going to work.. Hold on.” I pulled a strip of parchment from my bag and tore a long scrap from it. I quickly scribbled out ‘If found return to Aria Parish’ on it and rolled it into a small scroll. Pulling the ribbon that was holding back my hair I used it to tie the note around Chats neck like a collar and tag.

“That'll have to do for now. I'll see you soon.” I said giving him a quick scratch behind the ear. 

Rummaging around in my bag again I quickly looked for the letter I had brought with me. My acceptance letter.

I stopped before entering the Hall when I noticed my reflection in an old mirror hung nearby. You could tell I had run to get here. My face was flushed and my hair messy after tugging out its ribbon. I smoothed out my clothes and flicked my wand at my hair. In a flash my long dark hair was completely smooth, reaching down to my lower back. My hair had always been a pride of mine and I didn't want people to think I left it unruly as a regular habit.

With my acceptance letter in hand I approached the large double doors.

“Okay, let's do this.” I murmured to myself.


	2. Sorted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As before I'm new at this, please let me know if you catch anything I've missed. And I hope you enjoy!

_ I didn't think this out. _

Of course there was a sorting ceremony. Why had I thought this would this be simple. I'd planned on sitting with my new friends and speaking to the headmaster once dinner was over. 

As it turns out however, Hogwarts is divided into houses. And judging by the color scheme of the students, seated at each of the four long tables, you sat with your house at mealtimes. Since I didn't walk in with either Fred or Nat like I should have, I was stuck standing awkwardly in the doorway to the Great Hall. Waiting until the sorting was over. 

_ Fantastic. _

I wasn't sure of what to do. I'd never been very good with awkward situations.

I hovered in the wide doorway. Contemplating my dilemma and trying to ignore the whispers coming from the students nearby who had noticed me. Shifting my weight nervously I heard a stifled giggle coming from the table and decided it was time for me to leave. 

I could just return once the ceremony was over. The Headmaster wouldn't be busy then and I may have a chance to speak with them. That would be fine. But for now I needed to leave. 

I spun on the spot, with every intention of running from the room. However I didn't get very far as I ran face first into something very hard. I stumbled as my feet tangled over themselves, and strong hands grabbed my arms before I could fall.

Once I'd gotten my feet back under me I glanced up to see who I'd run into. Hazel eyes with soft flecks of green met mine.

"Oh! Hey James." I muttered feeling my face flush with embarrassment as I took a step back. A second later I realised I'd said his name as if we were friends. When in all honesty we hadn't even met before. 

_ Great, now he was going to think I was another stalker. _

I took a quick moment to assess his features in person. He did have a nice jawline. And his black hair was tousled carelessly like he had just woken from a long nap. I wondered if he'd fallen asleep somewhere on the train and that's why he was late to dinner as well.

He raised a brow at me but didn't question my casual response to his presence.   
  
“Where are you headed off to in such a hurry?" He asked.    
  
"Well, I've just realised I hadn't spoken with the Headmaster about what I need to do now that I've transferred here. But she's busy, so I was just going to-" I was talking with my hands nervously but he cut me off suddenly by grabbing my shoulders and twirling me around.

“Alright, c'mon." He placed his hand against my back and began pushing me towards the front of the hall.    
  
_ Bullocks _ .   
  
The Sorting ceremony appeared to be over. Everyone was now seated and enjoying their dinners. And the sounds of the students in the Great Hall rose as they spoke and laughed with one another. Catching up with friends they hadn't seen all summer.  

But James was obviously very popular. His presence made everyone look up as he passed, and my presence made them continue to stare. Mostly girls who, when I caught their gazes, were all glaring.

Heads turned to follow us as we made our way across the room. By the time we had reached the long table at the front of the Hall everyone's voices had fallen to a quiet hum. 

A tall stern woman sat in the middle of the table. Her grey hair was pulled into a tight bun and she wore a pinched expression like she had just bitten into something incredibly sour. She sat watching us over the rim her small spectacles with a curious expression.   
  
"Headmaster.” James addressed her with a nod before giving me a light push forward. “This is our new transfer student."   
  
"Oh?” She said simply. Her voice shook but with only one word I had felt the authority to it all the same. 

“I was not awa-" her voice trailed off. I noticed her gaze had fallen to something in my hand. I looked down and realised I was still clutching the old piece of parchment. My acceptance letter. I quickly held it out to her. When she reached for it her movements were slow and timid, as if she was afraid it might crumble at her touch. Carefully, with frail fingers she took the letter from me and eyed it for a long moment.  
  
"Oh my.” Her voice shook as she looked up to me again.  “We've been expecting you." She said with a smile and her eyes danced with excitement. Transfer students must be rare around here. "Thank you." I muttered, unsure of what else to say.   
  
A small sound broke the brief silence that followed. The professor to her right had been reading my letter and had just let out a gasp as he finished it. He met the Headmasters questioning expression.   
  
"This.. This letter was written by Dumbledore." He announced his voice shaking. Looking the letter over again as if to check if he had been seeing things.  
  
"Yes Professor Longbottom. It was." Said the Headmaster before standing and offering me her delicate hand.  
  
"Welcome to Hogwarts Miss Parish. I am Professor McGonagall and I'm the Headmaster here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” She stated confidently and with admiration in her tone. “Why don't you come with me and we'll get the sorting hat to find you a house.” She motioned for me to join her behind the professors table before looking back to James. “Thank you Mr Potter. You may go and enjoy your dinner now." Promptly dismissing him.  
  
"Sure.” He said with a slight nod to the Headmaster and he turned to leave. But not before I heard his low voice mutter, “See you around." And I couldn't help but hope he was right.  
  
"Come with me please" McGonagall said, breaking my attention from James's retreating form. Holding open a small door behind the professors table. I did as told and followed her inside.  
  
The room seemed to be a lounge of sorts. I assumed it was so the professors could eat in peace if they wished. It had two long tables situated in the middle of the room and the walls were adorned with random old artifacts strewn about in a lazy form of decor. At the back of the room in front of a small hearth sat an old wooden stool with an antique wizards hat swaying slowly back and forth on top of it. __  
_  
___"You see Headmaster. I told you there was one more to come." A somewhat bored and very matter of fact voice stated plainly. I couldn’t see the owner of the voice however.

  
"Of course.” The Headmaster contested as her lips turned up in a tight almost forced smile. “Now would you be so kind as to sort Miss Parish here?"  
  
The voice hummed thoughtfully in response before a small tear in the hat moved and caught my attention. The tear opened and it became clear that the hat was the one speaking. “ _Well alright, let's see what you've got to show me miss_."   
  
I stepped forward and the headmaster lifted the old hat from its stool and motioned for me to sit down. Once I had seated myself she placed the hat on my head and took a few steps back.  
  
“ _Well well.. You are an interesting one aren't_ __you.”  


I jumped slightly as the voice seemed to be muttering in my ear, or was it in my head? I wasn't quite sure but since it seemed to be speaking to itself I chose not to reply and just listened.    
  
“ _ Intelligent. Yes, but not so much in the classroom as in the field. Ravenclaw would overwhelm her with ex-pec-tation.”  _ The voice whispered, over punctuating each syllable of his last word _. _

__  
_ “That level head would be welcomed in Hufflepuff but there wouldn't be a true chance to shine..    _ __  
_ Let's see, Slytherin would appreciate the cunning but not the righteousness..”  _ The hats hollow voice trailed off slowly in contemplation before speaking up again in a much more confident tone. __  
__  
__ “Gryffindor will offer you a chance to become something more, but be careful of those secrets girl. The true of heart are often the first to feel betrayal .”   
  
It took a second for me to register the Sorting Hats words. But before I could respond he was shouting out "GRYFFINDOR!"   


I opened my mouth to ask what the he’d meant but the Headmaster promptly pulled him from my head before I had the chance. When I turned and met her gaze she looked absolutely delighted.   


"Another Gryffindor!” She announced with pride. “Dumbledore would have been so proud." She exclaimed and then leaned down to whisper "Gryffindor was his favorite house."   
  
Although her voice was joyful when she stood upright again she wore a sad smile. "Now go and sit with your fellow students dear. I'll inform your new Head of House." And with that she ushered me out the door and back into the Great Hall.    
  
Now that James wasn't accompanying me hardly anyone paid me any mind as I made my way towards the students sitting below the Gryffindor banners. I quickly scanned the benches looking for an open space to sit down.   
  
Towards the middle of the long wooden table a hand suddenly shot up and a familiar voice shouted to me "Oi! Aria over here!" I let out a breath of relief and made my way towards the hand and Fred's beaming smile.   
  
"Hey!” He greeted with enthusiasm. “Did you get sorted into Gryffindor?"   
  
"Yep!” I confirmed. “It took a little bit of deliberation but apparently I'm just not smart enough for Ravenclaw.." I stated and Fred chuckled in return.    
  
A small tug on my robe caught my attention and I turned to find James lazily looking up at me from Fred's left.

  
"I saved you a spot." He announced pointing to the spot beside him on the bench. I took note of the dining plate in front of the seat already stacked high with food.   
"Are you sure?” I questioned wearily.  “It looks like someone's already sitting here." I said pointing to the prepared food.   
  
"Nah, I just grabbed you some food because Fred's notorious for hogging all the good stuff to himself. Wouldn't want you to go hungry on your first day." He explained with a friendly smile.   
  
"Oh." I managed to mutter and then got out a weak "Thank you” before taking the offered seat.   
  
Dinner it seemed was much like a buffet with plates piled high with various food items. However with the sheer number of students the food was dwindling quickly, and as if to prove James's point Fred happily snatched the last yeast roll from in front of us. I frowned before noticing James had already supplied me with one. My spirits quickly lifted when I realised he had also served me a double helping of Mac and Cheese. Fred must have told him it was my favorite.    
  
I took a bite of the perfectly melted cheese and immediately concluded that house elves were tiny little gods before digging into the rest of my meal.   
  
I've never been ashamed of my love for food. For the most part my active lifestyle running after magical beasts with mum kept me in great shape. However I still had a bit more of a curve to my lower half than most of the string beans walking around. That wasn't going to deter me from something I loved. And I loved to eat. Besides I'd been told my curves were more attractive anyways.   
  
Out of the corner of my eye I suddenly noticed James was watching me with an amused expression. And it wasn't until then I realised I had been smiling to myself as I was eating.    
  
_ Welp _ .   
  
I set down my fork and turned towards him with narrowed eyes.   
  
"Okay, fess up.” I demanded. “How did you know I was going to be placed in Gryffindor?" His amused smile never faltered as he watched me lazily.   
  
"Because, Dumbledore favored Gryffindor." He stated as if it had been the obvious answer. Turning back to his own plate he speared a green bean and popped it into his mouth. He finished chewing before leaning towards me and continuing in a low voice so that only I could hear.

  
"And that acceptance letter you had, was handwritten by Dumbledore himself. Who may I point out had passed on before the time you were born." I froze at his words my eyes wide with shock.   
  
_ Why had that not occurred to me? _   
  
"But that's besides the point," he said still leaning close and therefore not noticing my sudden stiffness. "I can't imagine Dumbledore writing a future letter of acceptance for anyone other than a Gryffindor. He had a way of knowing when someone was bound for greatness." He explained before sitting back up and continuing his dinner.   
  
That caught my attention and I eyed him with curiosity.   
  
"You talk as if you knew him." I pointed out.   
  
"Well, I mean he was really close to my dad before he passed." He said taking another bite. He was acting like this wasn't news at all. Dumbledore was known as one of the greatest wizards of all time. And it was casual news that his dad was friends with him.    
  
“That's incredible!” I said in disbelief. “How did they meet?"   
  
The blank stare he gave me in response was one I was becoming accustomed to. 

_ Of course, how could I forget. He's “famous.” _

I felt my face deadpan along with my demeanor.   
  
"Let me guess, your dad is just as famous as you supposedly are?" I asked in a bored tone, my inner bitch was showing but I didn't care too much. I was tired of being treated like an idiot for not keeping up with celebrities. "Should I have seen him posing on the cover of a magazine by now as well?"    
  
His face fell as he was taken back by my snide words and I quickly regretted them. I forgot Fred had said he didn't enjoy being famous.   
  
"I'm sorry that was really rude-" I began to backpedal.   
  
"It's fine." He cut me off quickly waving a hand to dismiss my apology.

  
"Besides, it's not like it isn't true. And I guess it's just as rude to assume that everyone in the world knows who you are. So I apologize for that." He said kindly as he began to busy himself with his meal again.   
  
"Anyways yeah, dad met Dumbledore here at Hogwarts. Dumbledore was still Headmaster then. He helped my dad defeat Voldemort. Do you know who he was?" He asked glancing in my direction.   


_ Voldemort I knew that name.  _

I'd lived in the road with my parents for as long as I could remember. We traveled the world and in turn I had to be homeschooled. Up until Africa I had never spent much time with other wizards other than the families we met along the way. So I was fairly clueless with most things out of the realm of Magical Beasts or Magical Artifacts. But I had heard of Lord Voldemort. We’d spent a good portion of last semester covering him in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

_ So that meant.. _   
  
My fork was stopped halfway to my mouth.   
  
"Zaba Daya.” I said quietly.   
  
"What?"

"Zaba Daya. It means the Chosen One." I said finishing my bite of green beans. "Apparently I have heard of your family. I just know the story in another language."    
  
"Really?" He asked with interest.   
  
"Yeah, we covered it last year. All the way back to the seer's original prophecy of the Zaba Daya. Your father's prophecy was really well known." I explained.   
  
"Prophecy? I thought the prophecy was kept a secret at the Ministry until my father found it." He questioned. I looked at him blankly.    
  
"I'm not sure what you mean, but in Africa there is a tribe of Seers who spread the prophecies of anyone bound for greatness. I've never really put too much trust in them though.” My voice trailed off as I finished.   
  
"That's amazing. Have you heard any other prophecies?" He asked with a look of great interest.   
  
"Well not any other famous ones, just mine."    
  
"You've heard a prophecy about yourself? What was it?"   
  
"Mine?” I shot him a toothy grin. “Well I'm destined to become a crazy cat lady." 

My fork suddenly clattered to my plate. The noise startling James and making Fred look our way. 

“Oh shit! I forgot about Chat!” I exclaimed as I clamored to get out of my seat.

“Chat?” he asked as he and Fred stood to follow me.

“Yes Chat! He's my cat. I left him in the Entrance hall because I didn't have a room to leave him in yet! He's probably lost now!” I was speaking quickly as I briskly made my way back to the spot I'd left him. I could hear James and Fred on my heels.

“It's alright, we'll find him. What's he look like?” James asked calmly as I frantically looked around the Entrance Hall and gathered my pack.

“He's large for a normal cat, I think he's a Savannah but I'm not sure. He's completely black. I dunno! Just look for a mini panther and that's him. But he's a bit of a dick if I'm honest so if I find him he may not even come right away.” My words spilling out in a hurry as I began climbing the marble staircase to the rest of the castle. 

“Oh.” I said coming to a stop at the top of the stairs. 

“What's wrong?” Fred asked catching up with me first, James right behind.

“I just realised I have no idea where anything is even if I did find him. Could you guys at least tell me where the dormitory is?” I asked.

The boys looked at each other with confused expressions. 

“Well we're coming with you. So we can just make sure you don't get lost.” Fred stated as if their intentions had been obvious.

“Oh no that's okay! It's the first day back and I'm sure you guys have friends to catch up with.” I said with a polite smile as I turned to head up the first flight of stairs. The stairwell was enormous and wound its way further up than I could see. 

“Friends to catch up with!?” Fred repeated with humor to James. “We don't really hang out with anyone that's not family! And we see them every day!”

When I reached the top of the landing both boys were by my side. 

“Well then, if you insist.” I replied and began to step onto the second flight of stairs before I was tugged backwards. “Wha-!?” I didn't have to finish my question as the staircase I'd been about to step on suddenly rumbled and slid away from the landing, attaching itself to a landing across the tower.

“We do insist. And if it makes you feel better then think of us as tour guides! Making sure you don't fall to your death on your first day here!” James proclaimed happily releasing my arm from where he'd grabbed me. “Oh okay then.. Thank you.” I said quietly while watching the staircases above us move slowly around the tower.

“Or end up locked in a vanishing cabinet.” Added Fred matter of factly, making James laugh. 

As we continued up the staircase towards the second floor the boys continued to name one threat after another that they “saved” me from by coming with me.

“Beaten by the Whomping Willow!” 

“Pulled under by the Giant Squid!”

“Chewed up by a hungry Cerberus!”

“Lost forever in the Chamber of Secrets!”

“Caught by Mr Filch!”

Fred was now doubled over laughing at James’s last comment. We had just reached the second floor corridor. It took Fred a few moments to compose himself enough to reply.

“Sadly though, we couldn't protect you there. If Mr Filch catches you, you're on your own.” Fred shot me finger guns and headed towards the first classroom. Stopping to check behind the nearest tapestry and call Chats name.

“Who's Mr Filch?” I asked James as I followed Fred, wondering what kind of person could be more feared than a Cerberus.

“He's the school caretaker. Been here since our parents came, and hates our guts because of it. It's his life mission to catch us doing something that could get us expelled.” Said James with a smirk.

“Yeah if you think about it, we're third generation troublemakers. And Filch isn't getting any younger. This is probably his last chance to finally bag a Weasley or a Potter!” 

“Well, have you done anything worth getting you expelled?” I asked checking the nearest classroom.

“Oh yeah, loads.” James said happily. “We're probably the worst thing to happen to Filch since the original Fred and George.” I heard Fred let out a chuckle at James comment from further up the corridor.

We continued to make small talk as we searched the West wing of the school. Fred and James made sure to show me everything along the way. The hospital wing, the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower, and a spot to view the Quidditch pitch when it wasn't so dark out. When we reached the third floor James stopped in front of a room with a sign labeling it as the trophy room. 

“Here, I want you to see this.” He said waving me over to a dusty old glass case just outside the door.

The glass shelves were covered in moving photographs. Many young witches and wizards, some holding awards, or trophies, and some simply shaking hands with Dumbledore. James had his interest focused on one shelf right in the middle of the case. 

“These,” he said pointing to one photograph right in the middle “are the original members of Dumbledore's Army. They are the ones who led the rest of the school in the fight against Lord Voldemort.” His voice was filled with pride.

“There's the original Fred! And my dad!” Fred announced pointing over James’s shoulder.

“Yeah and that's my dad right in the middle, next to Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron. My mum's over by Uncle George. Let's see, that's Luna, she's the twins mum. Dean Thomas is on the end, were good friends with his son Noah. And that's Professor Longbottom behind dad, he's the best Professor at Hogwarts, mostly because he lets us get away with a lot.” James and Fred were both watching the figures in the picture with the same pride I'd heard in his voice.

_ Mental note: Read up on the Battle of Hogwarts _

“They were all so young, and to think that they all risked their lives to defeat him.” I said quietly watching James's mom shoot a glare at the girl standing beside his father. I couldn't help but let out a small giggle, hoping the boys didn't hear me I slowly turned it into a cough. I didn't want them to think I was laughing at their parents bravery.

“Yeah, Aunt Gin has never been one to hide her emotions. She's a pretty open book. One not meant for sensitive eyes.” Fred laughed nudging James's shoulder. 

“Oi that's my mum your talking about!” James said shoving his friend back. I watched them bickering with a smile as we left the area, continuing on our search. I'd known them both less than 24 hours but I liked them a lot. 

_ I'd give anything to be as close with someone as they were with each other. _

 

By the time we reached the 4th floor my optimism was beginning to dwindle. Fred and I were scouting out the History of Magic classrooms while James covered the library. 

The corridor was smaller than all the others, with only three classrooms and the library. I finished my search before either of the boys and decided to wait outside of the Library. A painting by the entrance had caught my interest and I was watching it's subject when I heard voices coming from the Library.

Three girls in royal blue ties were walking out. They were talking amongst themselves and had yet to notice me. I went back to examining the painting, but gave a friendly smile as they passed. Upon doing so I caught the eye of one of the girls. She had short curly blonde hair and was watching me with a curious expression.

“Give me a second. I'll catch up.” She told her friends as they continued past me down the corridor. 

“Hey, you're new here right? Like your the transfer student?” She asked.

“Uh yeah I suppose I'm probably the only one.” I replied watching her two friends receding forms.

“I just heard a rumor that you were with James at dinner tonight.” She said slowly before blurting out, “Just.. don't take this the wrong way. But, be careful around him. There have been some, let's say stories circling about him that would make me think twice about being alone with him.” One of her friends coughed impatiently and she glanced over her shoulder quickly. “Just be careful!” She whispered before hurrying after her friends.

I stood frozen in the middle of the corridor for quite some time. Going over what she'd said to me. 

_ Be careful of James? But he's so nice. Why would anyone be scared of him? _

“What's wrong?” Fred asked snapping me out of my own thoughts.   


“Oh I'm- I mean.. Nothing I think.” I replied quietly.

Freds expression told me he knew there was more.

“It's just.. A girl just said something to me.. About James.” I explained in a low tone. Fred's face darkened. 

“Right. I'm sure I can guess what she said.” He said plainly.

“I don't understand. James seems great..” I admitted.

“There's a reason we don't really spend time with anyone outside of the family Aria.” Fred said quietly.  “James’s fame comes with consequences as well. For now I'll just tell you that over summer break someone tried to get their 15 minutes of fame out of him, and when he didn't give it, they took it. It's not my place to tell you. But please don't be scared of him. It's good for him to meet someone who doesn't worship his name.” Fred explained, watching me with a mix of emotions.

“I hadn't planned on it.” I replied.

The door to the library creaked and we both turned to see James walking towards us.

He flashed us a bright smile. “No luck in there, but she did promise to keep an eye out for him. She knows your name in case he turns up.”

“Thank you. Thank you both, for everything.” 

Glancing out the window I noticed how dark it had become. “It's getting late and I still need to find our dorm. Let's call it a night on our search, maybe you boys can finish off our tour by finding me a fireplace. As much as I hate the extreme heat I've never spent a cold night in a castle before and I'm dying for some warmth.” I insisted as my body let a small shiver run down my arm. 

Fred looked down at his jumper wrinkling up his nose. “I'd give you my jumper to keep warm.. But I spilled juice on it at dinner, and it's not fully dry yet.”

I heard James shuffling behind be and turned to look just as he draped his warm sweater over my shoulders. “Lucky for you, I'm always hot. And I'm not a clutz like our friend here.” Fred simply shrugged in response causing my to giggle.

Straightening up I pulled James's sweater tight around my body. “Alright boys, how do we get to our dorm?”

I let them lead me back down the History of Magic corridor and the stairs of the West wing. While the boys talked and laughed freely I was only partly tuned in to them. My mind was on what Fred had said, about someone trying to use James to get in the spotlight. It made me sad. No wonder he was picky about his friends. 

I pulled his sweater up so it was covering the bottom half of my face. I was terribly cold.. But still, I couldn't help but notice James had a very nice smell.

It was almost like he'd been laying in fresh cut grass, and then spent the rest of the day in front of a fireplace. But there was another scent, old parchment maybe? He did spend quite a bit of time in the library.

Lost in my thoughts and the scent of James I ran into something hard. Hearing a soft laugh I looked up to see the source if my thoughts smiling down at me. “That's twice today. I'm starting to think I'm invisible to you.” James chuckled.

“Well I'm glad you aren't” _.  _ I said quietly. Letting my eyes wander down him after he'd looked away.

_ Because that would be a damn shame. _

James made a small noise and the back of his neck flushed red. 

_ Shit. I said that out loud.  _

James cleared his throat and turned with his arms spread wide. “Well here we are! Gryffindor tower!” He announced, motioning me towards a painting of a large woman. 

Fred stepped forward. “You missed the prefects speech but the password is Grindylow.” The woman simply nodded and her portrait swung backwards, frame and all, to reveal a doorway into a brightly lit room. Before we could take a step inside however, a mess of bushy red hair slammed into Fred. 

"Boys! Where have you been!? You missed Doms first heartbreak of the year!” Fred slung his arm around the young girls shoulders and proceeded through the portrait hole with her.

“Aw man! The first one is my favorite, I didn't even have time to place my bet!” Their voices drowned out as they disappeared from my sight.

A strong hand pressed against the small of my back. James was encouraging me to step into the room. 

“Go on then. No one bites.” He said softly as we made our way through the doorway.

The room was large and cozy. And most importantly to me, it was warm. Plush armchairs were scattered around to form multiple sitting areas. The largest cluster of which were located in front of a huge stone fireplace. Those particular chairs were full to the brim with smiling faces.

Beside me James cleared his throat drawing everyone's attention.

“My darling family!” James announced.  “And Al.” He added bluntly.

“Hey!-” 

“I want to introduce you guys to Aria. She's a transfer student from Africa. So you know, don't be weird and scare her off. Try to make her feel at home.” James plopped down into an open chair by the fire when he was done speaking.

The same redhead from before raised her hand at James. 

“Yes Rose?”

“So do you want us to contain our weirdness and not scare her off, or make her feel at home? Because our homes are weird and would probably scare her off.” A large pillow hit her in the face. 

“You know what I meant!” James huffed as his family broke into laughter.

I made my way over to the fireside, seeking the warmest spot I could find. I settled on the floor beside James's chair. Stretching my legs so my feet could warm up.

“Don't worry, I spent a whole year at a school where no-one but the teachers spoke even the smallest bit of English. Compared to that, you guys could all be werewolves and I'd still be pretty comfortable.” 

The longest couch in the middle was holding four members of the family. A beautiful girl with long golden hair and legs for days introduced herself as Dominique. Dom for short. Next to her was the girl called Rose, she had a head of bushy red hair and freckles sprinkled over her nose. Rose was in her 5th year and belonged to the Ravenclaw house. Next to her was Fred, who introduced himself to me again despite the groan from James’s chair.

And on his left was Hugo, a small boy with short brown hair and freckles that mirrored his sister Rose. He was in Gryffindor as well but only in his 3rd year.

The large chairs held Albus a 5th year Slytherin, and James's brother, which James tried to deny. Lily the last Potter sibling, who was a 3rd year Gryffindor. And Louis another 5th year Slytherin with the same beautiful complexion as his sister Dom. And there were three other cousins not present, Molly, Lucy and Roxanne.

_ How was I supposed to remember all of that? They talk so fast. _

Everyone was smiling at me now. “Okay so, let's see if I got this right..” I pointed to James, Al, and Lilly. “Potter 1, 2, and 3 respectively.. And the rest shall simply be called Weasley until I can begin to comprehend all that information you guys just threw at me.” Silence was my only answer until Fred let out his howling laugh, seconds later everyone was joining including me. 

After an hour of family banter Rose climbed to her feet. Stretching her arms above her head she tried to stifle a large yawn. “Okay guys and girls. And Al.” She nodded in his direction and he scowled at her before breaking a smile. “I'm going to have to call it a night.” 

Murmurs of agreement could be heard from a few others. Looking around the common room I noticed most of the other students had already retired to their beds. The thought of a warm bed had me smiling to myself. The nap with Chat on the train had given me a boost but I was looking forward to a good night's sleep. 

_ Oh right, Chats still missing..  _

Talking with everyone had pushed him from my mind. 

I hoped he was okay. I bit my bottom lip gently, something I had a habit of doing whenever I was stressed. I wish I had been able to find him. I'm sure he'll be fine. He was a stow away on a train when I found him, so he obviously has street smarts. 

A warm hand brushing my cheek broke by train of thought. “Don't worry about Chat. Fred told everyone about him before they left.” I looked up to see James’ warm smile, and his cousin Doms smiling face leaning over his shoulder. 

“Also, stop biting your lip, you're going to chap it in this cold.” Dom instructed. And I laughed at her motherly words. “Sorry mum, it's a habit.” 

She offered me a hand to help me to my feet. “Let's get to bed yeah? We can work on breaking bad habits later.” Once I was upright I began rubbing my rear I realised it had gone numb sitting on the hard floor for so long. 

Dom sent James a stern look before turning to leave. “Another lesson to learn. A lady doesn't sit on the ground.”

Sending James a quick smile I followed after Dom. “But James didn't sit on the ground.” 

We had reached the stairs before James got the joke. “Hey!” 

“Good night James!” I shouted back to him. Before following Dom up the spiral stairway to our dormitory.

 

\---

 

A warm body pressing into my chest woke me from my sleep. “Chat!” My voice a hushed whisper. 

I could only just make out his form in the moonlight but I knew it was him. “Where have you been? I've been worried sick!” His only response was a loud rumbling purr as he nudged his way into the crook of my neck. 

When I began drifting back to sleep I had a smile on my face. As much as I missed my family I knew I was going to like Hogwarts. 

 

\---

 

A bright light woke me. Squinting my eyes I attempted to see what was causing the light and I realised my curtains were no longer drawn. The light was coming from the tip of Doms wand. Which was hovering next to my face. “Good morning beautiful! Time to get ready!” I fell back into my pillow with a groan and felt Chat stretching himself awake by my side.

I watched Dom digging through her trunk at the end of her bed. “Why are we up before the sun may I ask?”

Finally finding the item she was looking for, a pair of faded skinny jeans, she snapped her trunk shut and made her way back to my side. “Because, it's the first day of classes and you are my newest friend! Which means.. You can't go outside this room with bedhead!”

She tapped the top of my nose with her fingertip before dashing off again.

_ How do people manage to have so much energy in the mornings..  _

She is right though, I probably looked a mess yesterday after all my traveling and literally running to school.

“Alright fine, I'll get up.” I consented. Tossing my blankets back I managing to right myself bedside my bed. The two other girls sharing our dorm room were both asleep still.

_ Lucky. _

I could hear Dom showering as I dug through my trunk for something to wear. Last night she had mentioned being happy about the new lax dress code for 6th and 7th years. Apparently traditional robes were optional once you'd made it past your OWLs, a reward for hard work and a break from the rigorous road ahead. 

Sadly for me, that meant I needed normal clothing. I had a lot of thin comfortable clothes to wear in the heat but very few clothes cut out for colder weather.

“You can't find something you like?” I jumped in surprise at the sudden voice.

“Sweet Merlin Dom! Make some noise next time!” My hand still clutching my heart as if I was afraid it was going to give up on me any second. “But no, my clothes aren't really cut out for colder weather and I was expecting to have a dress code.” 

Doms face lit up with excitement. “That's okay! I have plenty of things you can borrow! And we can ask Mcgonagall if we can make a shopping trip for you!” Before I could even agree she was digging through her trunk again. “Go get showered. I'll find you something to wear in the meantime!”

I chuckled at her genuine happiness as I made my way to the bathroom. “Whatever you say mum!” 

Feeling clean and refreshed I stepped out of the bathroom only to be assaulted by Dom. “Here are your clothes, put them on! But first hold still!” She flicked her wand at my hair and the water shot off the ends, my hair bounced back perfectly dry. Another flick gave me tousled beach waves that fell down my back. I marveled at their perfection in the mirror.

“Wow Dom that's amazing! You have to teach me that!” 

She ushered me back to the bathroom. “Of course love, but first clothes.”

Another 10 minutes and Dom was done with me. Turning this way and that to see myself, I gave my reflection a look that said ‘well that was unexpected’ as I admired her work.

My hair looked fabulous, and she'd given me jeans that perfectly hugged my hips and butt, with a silk red top to finish it off. I looked way more dressed up than I've ever bothered looking for anything. 

I turned around to eye her momentarily. “Your butt is a lot smaller than mine. Why do these jeans fit me so well?”

She twirled her wand with a smirk as she made her way towards me. “Well if I'm being honest, it's because you're my guinea pig.”

I stared at her for a moment before shrugging. “Well if being a guinea pig means looking this fine every day then I'm down.” 

She threw a pair of ankle boots at my feet and sat down on her bed. “I want to be a fashion designer. But growing up with Veelas it's hard to get any real feedback on if something looks good, because well, everything looks amazing. And none of my cousins are really the type to model for me. Soo I was hoping I could convince you into letting me use you as a guinea pig.” She was twisting her bed sheet nervously as she talked.

I finished putting the boots on and slid my wand into the small denim sleeve that had been sewn into the leg of the jeans. “Well I'm obviously going to say yes, so what do you need me to do?”

She let out an excited squeal and jumped off her bed clasping her hands together. “Thank you! Okay so, those jeans are mine but I've placed a perfect glove charm on them, let me know if it starts wearing off, you'll know because they'll start feeling a bit more snug.  And I made that shirt out of my pillowcase this morning using a transfiguration spell I haven't practiced with too much, just let me know if it's comfortable or falling apart at the end of the day.” I glanced behind her and sure enough her pillow was bare.

“Dom this is amazing! You're so talented! This is going to be great for me because I've been wearing rompers for like a year now.” Her nose turned up in mock disgust at the idea, I shrugged in return.“I know, not my finest hour.” 

Once we were ready to leave I gathered my old cloth bag that had all my supplies but was stopped by Doms facial expression. 

“Put that down.  _ Now _ .” I quickly obliged, watching as Dom made her way back to our beds, muttering a few spells to herself as she went.

Soon I was fitting with a small garnet and gold satchel. It was well made and worth the new hole in my bedside curtains. “It's small, so you'll have to hold your books but I wouldn't worry.” She said with a wink. “A guy will probably take them off your hands pretty fast.” 

Slipping my new pack off my shoulder I laid it on my bed and pulled out my wand. “I have a better idea.” 

_ Capacious extremis _

I lightly tapped my bag and then tucked my wand back in it's sleeve.

“That should do it!” I exclaimed while Dom watched wide eyed as I proceeded to dump all of my heavy textbooks and supplies inside.

“What did you do?” 

“Placed an Undetectable Extension Charm on it! But if your asking because you didn't hear it, don't worry, I used a nonverbal spell because the Ministry likes to monitor its use.” I dropped a bottle of ink and a few extra quills in the front pocket.

“You can use non verbal magic already? Isn't that on our course work for later this year?”

“It probably is, I learned it a bit early for hunting with mom. You don't want to be shouting Stupefy in a cave of Cornish Pixies. You'll just piss off the ones you weren't aiming at.” I flashed a grin at her. “Ready to go?”

We made the walk down to breakfast alone after waiting for the boys to wake and then deciding it wasn't worth it. We were almost to the Great Hall when we heard quick footsteps behind us. 

“Oi! Rude! You couldn't have waited like 10 more minutes? You know normal people are still asleep!”

Dom simply tossed her hair and kept walking. “Beauty waits for no man.”

Fred was hot on her heels. “That's not a real expression and you know it!”

My laugher was joined by James’ but when I looked back he wasn't watching them at all.

He was eyeing my new ensemble. “I'm guessing Dom didn't let you pick out your own outfit this morning?” 

I raised my brow in mock shock. “James Potter are you trying to imply that I'm not rocking this pillow case?” His confused expression was met by my laughter as I turned and followed my new friends. 

“Wait that's a pillow case!?” 

 

\---

  
  
  
  



	3. Reunited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. I've gotten quite a few chapters written but editing them takes much longer than I thought it would. XD

Breakfast was absolute chaos. The Gryffindor table was loud and boisterous, and Fred's laugh alone could be heard well above all the other noises in the Hall. 

Amongst all the Wotters, as I was jokingly told to call them, there were a few new faces for me to learn. 

Noah Thomas was a dark skinned boy who shared a room with James and Fred. Hearing his deep voice thick with accent made me smile every time he talked. And a few seats down, Al was sitting next to a friend from Slytherin, Scorpius, a skinny boy with white hair and a blunt humor to match Al’s. 

Tuning out the voices around me I was delighted to see that breakfast was just as glorious as dinner had been. I piled my plate high with a bit of everything. 

I was going to need plenty of substance for my first day of school. 

_ That's a lie, I just love food. _

I had just begun cutting up my waffle, my mouth already salivating at the thought, when someone bumped my shoulder roughly, breaking my concentration. 

I turned to glare at James, who was sitting beside me, and had apparently been in a hurry to greet someone behind me.

He was grinning from ear to ear before he noticed my attention was on him. Ignoring my sour expression he introduced me eagerly. “Aria, I'd like for you to meet my best,  _ non-family, _ friend!” 

Turning in my seat, I gave a quick smile to the newcomer, who in turn didn't seem interested in meeting me at all. So instead I stuffed a bite of food in my mouth and watched as James and his friend continued.

“Where have you been!? I couldn't find you on the train, then Longbottom had me running errands at dinner last night and you didn't come back to the dorm til crazy late. I was starting to think you were ignoring me!” The boy had pulled James into a tight hug, clapping him on the back hard.

“Calm down mate. I'd literally have to be blind to ignore you, you're practically an Ogre.” That earned him a quick punch to the arm. 

James was right though he was a big guy. He was tall, with wide shoulders and a face that would make any woman swoon. His sandy brown hair was roused carelessly and he was sporting well trimmed beard that, when taken in account with the rest of him, just made him look like a lumberjack.

“I'll have you know I've met an ogre and therefore I take offense to that statement.” The boy retorted.

James scoffed playfully. “Of course you have. Lysander Scamander, Ogre hunter extraordinaire!”

I froze. Letting my brain process the words for a second before dropping the toast I was chewing on and whirling around to see the boys face again.

He was no longer the scrawny boy I'd spent my youth with. His face wasn't even familiar under the well groomed beard. But those calm ice blue eyes were definitely still the same . A wide toothy smile broke across my face as I stared at him.

“Sander!”

The boys attention dropped to me, momentarily forgetting his conversation with James. Regarding me with a curious expression as he scanned my face. 

We had changed so much since the last time we were together, and the time had done him well. The 11 year old boy I'd last seen in the forests of Scandinavia was gone and in his place was a well built adolescent man. His rugged look was a stark contrast to James's perfect cover page model build.

I watched as his confused expression morphed into one of recognition and his eyes lit with excitement.

“ARIA!!” 

Without a moment's notice he had pulled off the bench and was crushing me to his chest. The air left my lungs in a deflated squeak of surprise. He'd always been a hugger, but now his bear hugs were definitely harder to break away from. 

I wheezed dramatically. “Can't breathe King Kong, let's put the nice lady down.”

His laughter brought back so many memories as he set me down and ruffled my hair.

James chuckled softly at his friends excitement. “You guys know each other I take it?”

I shoved Sander playfully. “Know each other? We practically grew up together! But it's been years since we've seen one another.” I turned back to Sander and shook my head. “I didn't even recognize you for a second. Puberty hit you like a bludger to the face didn't it?”

Glancing back to the table I realised that the rest of the family had fallen quiet and everyone was watching us with interest.

Sander noticed as well and his face fell slightly.

“What?” 

Dom was the first to voice her confusion.

“How exactly do you guys know each other?” 

Sanders immediate response was a loud laugh that meant he clearly thought Dom was joking. When she didn't laugh he glanced around the table and realised she wasn't the only one.

“Hello!” He threw his arms out dramatically and motioned to himself. “I'm a Scamander! My whole family is full of beast fanatics!” Dom rolled her eyes like she heard this all the time. 

“Of course you are, you never let us forget it, but what's that have to do with Aria?”

This time, his face fell completely. With his mouth slightly ajar he looked from Dom to me and then back at the rest of the table, all of whom seemed to be waiting for his answer.

“Do you guys not know who her parents are?” 

A few people shared glances, shaking their heads slightly. It wasn't their faults, I just hadn't delved into my family history with everyone last night. 

Dom raised her hand weakly. “I know her mom was working with Pixies.” I let out a small giggle at the sudden color change of Sanders face.

“Pi- Pix-!? PIXIES!?” He seemed to be having a hard time getting his words out. 

“Her mother!” He pointed to me dramatically as if there was someone else standing beside me that they may have confused me with. “Is one of the best Magizoologist since my grandfather! The man who wrote the freaking book on magical creatures! Do any of you even know why she's lived in Africa for the last 6 years!?” 

Everyone looked around again hoping someone else had the answer. James was simply looking at me with a look that said ‘I‘m sorry my friend lost his mind and you're going through this.’

Fred raised his hand mimicking Doms actions earlier. “I don't know the answer but I am curious how you knew she was in Africa.”

Sander ran a hand through his messy brown locks slowly. “I know, because anyone who knows anything about Magical Creatures would know why the Parishes are there. They're researching the Nundu.” 

Al and Scorpius shared a look. “The Nun-who?”

I was sure I could see a vein in Sanders temple pulsing. His voice was beginning to strain, realising he was fighting a losing battle.“The Nundu! C’mon guys I talk about this stuff like weekly!” 

When his only response was raised eyebrows and Dom picking at her nails his shoulders drooped. Giving up he dropped down into the seat next to mine and laid his forehead against the table, clearly pouting.

I took my seat in between him and James again and everyone continued with their meals as if one of their friends hadn't just had a mental breakdown.

I rubbed his back lightly with one hand while picking my fork back up with the other. “There there, it'll be alright. Watch your head dear, you're going to get syrup in your hair.” He grumbled something about not caring in response.

“So uh, what is a Nundu?”

I turned towards James while taking my first bite of my perfectly fluffy waffle.

“The Nundu is a magical beast from Africa. Newt classified it as the most dangerous in the world.” I explained in a statement that would have been more ominous had I not said it with a mouth full of food. 

Regardless, James did suddenly looked a bit more interested, turning give me his full attention. Realising he wanted more information, I thought for a moment about what to tell him.

“Well let's see.. I could give you some basic facts I guess..” James nodded in encouragement.

“Okay well, first of all, Nundus are built pretty similarly to large African cats. But they're huge, and covered in spines. They are extremely hard to locate. Mostly because they're movement is seemingly undetectable. They leave no trail and move without sound. They're very solitary creatures, avoiding contact with humans as much as possible. But those who do see one rarely live to tell about it. And aside from their terrifying temperament their worst weapon is their plague breath. It's a poison gas produced from a pouch around their throats. It's been known to wipe out whole villages in one go.” My voice trailed off as I couldn't think of any more basic facts to tell him.

Seeing Fred considering the last sausage on the tray I quickly stabbed it and pulled it to my plate. He whined in return and I stuck out my tongue in childish victory.

“So then why are they trying to find one.”

James’ question startled me, I hadn't realized he was still watching me. But his expression showed that he was actually interested in the topic.

“Well it's a bit of a long story..” I admitted.

“Can you give me the short version at least?”

“Uhh yeah, why not..” I consented quietly.

“When we first moved to Africa six years ago we were there documenting the Runespoors living in the forests of Burkina Faso. Harmless work. Runepoors get a bad wrap because of the whole three headed giant snake thing, but they're fairly docile creatures. Anyways because of this my parents weren't really too worried about me wandering around. One bad decision led to another and we eventually got separated.” James’ brow furrowed in concern and I could tell by the noise level that a few other family members had began to listen.

“I wandered around the forest for a while, unable to find my way back. When I ended up stumbling upon a Nundu that had been severely hurt in a poachers trap. Her leg was stuck and I could tell she was exhausted from trying to release herself. I know it was stupid but I wanted to help her. Soo I politely asked her not to kill me and she let me get close enough to release her.” 

“Merlin's beard woman..” Als voice was sharp with concern. I smiled warmly at the thought.

“Like I said, I know it was stupid. Luckily when I freed her she didn't try to kill me, she just watched me. It didn't help that her leg was still badly wounded from the trap either.” 

“I used a healing potion from my field bag to seal her wound. She was able to stand but still didn't leave, instead she stayed with me until we heard my parents calling.” My voice trailed off as I smiled at the memory.

“Imagine their surprise when they saw their 10 year old daughter riding towards them on the back of the deadliest creature we know of.. Anyways, ever since that day, mom has been tracking and studying her. She's let me approach her a handful of times over the years and she will allow my parents to get near her but they've never touched her. My mom seems to think her docile nature towards humans could be a key to our coexistence with them.” I glanced around at everyone and had to giggle. 

The reactions were all pretty funny. Fred's jaw couldn't get any lower if he tried, Dom’s eyes were saucers and Al had his arms crossed over his chest with a very “proud father” look on his face. But it was Scorpius that broke the silence. 

“Well, that's the most badass thing I've ever heard in my entire life. And I've heard some pretty badass shit.”

Laughter filled our table again and a loud groan came from Sanders sulking form. “I told you guys..”

Our laughter only died down when Headmaster McGonagall began tapping her wand against her podium, motioning for the room to simmer down.

“I hope everyone has had their fill and that you are all ready for another marvelous school year. If you'd be so inclined..” She flicked her wand slightly and small scrolls appeared in front of most of the students. “Please review your class schedules and promptly report to your first assigned course. To our 6th year students, you will be spending your first period today meeting with your Heads of House and deciding which NEWT level courses you shall be pursuing based on your OWL scores. Now, off you go.” 

The room was soon filled with the sound of shuffling feet and idle chatter as students crowded their Professors. James had left to speak with our Head of House while the younger members of the family looked over their schedules. We said our goodbyes and soon it was just the four of us left waiting on James to return.

His voice cut through our idle chatter as he quickly picked up his bag. “Professor Longbottom said we'll be meeting in his classroom once he's done here, so I suppose we can head that way now, no reason to wait around.”

Apparently Professor Longbottom was the herbology teacher. His classroom was a large greenhouse and it was alive with magical plants and small insects flying amongst them. I decided I quite liked it here as I walked down the isle slowly brushing my fingers along a few leaves.

“I'd be a bit careful Aria. Some of his plants are known to bite!” Fred's voice became strained as he noticing hissing coming from a pot near him. He eyed me warily as I tapped the leaf of a particularly large purple flower pod.

“Thank you for your concern love.” 

The flower slowly began to open, and without warning lashed out a slimy pink blur. A small vine with rows of sharp thorns and a bud on its end had just nearly missed grabbing my hand. I quickly moved out of it's path and promptly flicked the budding end. The flower froze before extracting it's gnarled vine and opening itself wide.

“However I happen to be absolutely intrigued with Herbology, so I know a thing or two about these guys.”

James, Fred, and Noah shared a look as Sanders laughed and made his way towards me. “I told you guys, she's the coolest.” He slung his arm around me and began ruffling my hair again. 

“ **_Hey_ ** !” Doms voice snapped him to attention. “If you fuck up those perfect waves I will fuck up your perfect face!” He quickly dropped his arm and fell into the seat closest to him. “Yes ma'am!” 

_ Note to self: Dom can be scary.  _

I lowered myself into the seat next to him before she found a reason to yell at me as well.

She was still fussing over my hair when Professor Longbottom arrived followed by the other 6th year Gryffindors. There were 3 of them, a boy named Eli with tousled blonde hair and a sweet face, and the two girls I hadn't gotten to meet last night because they were already asleep when we'd gone to bed.

One was short, very short. If I were to hug her she'd be smothered in my chest. Her hair was adorably curly and only chin length, reminding me of a brunette Shirley Temple. A character from one of the muggle shows my mom loved. 

Her name was Eliza Macmillan, but I was to call her Liz, which I was fine with because it made her even cuter. Her friends name was Aileen Finnegan, a tall girl with pale skin and bright red hair. Her most prominent feature was her accent. Which was heavy with Irish influence therefore making everything she said worth listening to. And she came with the nickname of Lee. 

Lee was wearing a shiny pin in the shape of a red shield with the word ‘Prefect’ written across it. I recognized it and glanced to Noah who had the same pin attached to his scarf. 

“What’s a Prefect?” I whispered to Sander as Dom left us to go greet the girls. 

“Oh, a Prefect is a 6th year that’s been chosen by the Headmaster to have a bit extra authority. They have to monitor the halls a few times a week and are responsible for stepping in if a Professor isn’t around during a conflict.” I nodded in understanding. 

“Why aren’t you a Prefect?” I asked. This earned me a sharp laugh..

“Are you kidding? Fred, James and I are notorious trouble makers. Besides there's only one boy and one girl chosen from each house. And Noah is a perfect student. He’s the obvious choice.” I had to agree with that logic as Fred and James had already told me how bad they were.

It seemed Dom was already good friends with the girls. Which was understandable considering they'd lived in the same dorm room for 5 years. The three of them were currently engulfed in the reenactment Liz was performing of the boy who'd asked her out last night before promptly running away. Dom never even had a chance to answer. 

Lee was doubled over laughing and Dom was glaring daggers at both of them. “It's not funny!” 

Liz was leaning on Lee's shoulder for support. “It really is, especially remembering the facial expression you made once he started running away!” Dom huffed and I had to let out a laugh. It did sound like a very funny situation.

One by one the Professor took each of us into his office to talk about what we aspired to do after Hogwarts. He then directed us in what courses we would need to focus on for the following years. I've known my path for years and already knew which courses I would need to excel at. So I assumed my meeting would be a quick one. 

Sitting across from the professor in his office I waited as he read over my transcript.

“So Miss Ariana. Do you have any idea what subjects you would be interested in pursuing, or if you know which classes you prefer we can try to find something for you from that information.”

“Oh that won't be necessary Professor. I'm planning to follow my mother's path as a Magizoologist. I know which courses I need already.” I pulled a slip of parchment from my bag and offered it to him.

He scanned the list I had prepared and smiled warmly “Well alright then! Let me just get you a schedule together then.” 

Returning his smile I excused myself and made my way back to the classroom. It took another hour for everyone to finish speaking with Professor Longbottom but by the end we all had new schedules made for us and we compared them excitedly.

Sander, it turns out, was planning on becoming a dragon trainer. And as it was in the same field as Magizoology we had the same schedule. I looked forward to having someone I knew in every class. Our courses would be Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions.

My schedule was perfect for me, and I was happy to finally be rid of the unnecessary ones. Divination was never something I enjoyed, Astronomy and History of Magic both seemed pointless for my chosen field and Defense Against the Dark Arts was something I felt I already excelled at and didn't need a NEWT on the subject.

James and Fred as it turned out had no real plans for after school. But they both took courses to cover themselves for jobs at the Ministry with James’ father if need be. Our schedules were similar but instead of Potions they had opted for Defense Against the Dark Arts. 

Dom on the other hand was like me. She knew exactly what she wanted. Her course load was lighter with only needing Transfiguration, Charms and Potions. But she had decided to sign up for Defense Against the Dark Arts on her own accord, stating simply, “A woman needs to know how to protect herself.”

We made our way out of the Greenhouses and Sanders led our little group down to the lakeside.

“So we've got about 5 hours before our first class, what do you guys want to do?” James asked as he tossed a stone towards the lake. 

“Noah and I have a Prefects meeting in about an hour so we should probably head back soon.” Lee said with a nod to Noah.

“I wanted to head by the Library and pick up a few books.” Dom said and Liz quickly offered to go with her.

“Hey Fred.” I said catching his attention. “Feel like showing me some moves on the Pitch?” I asked thinking of the Quidditch pitch the boys had pointed out to me last night.

“Oh yeah! Now’s a perfect time! Let’s go!” Fred jumped up from his spot in the grass and motioned towards the Castle.

“Woah woah! What’s at the pitch?” James asked quickly.

“Well Fred promised to show me some basics of Quidditch. I've heard people talk about it and such but I’ve never gotten to play myself. So I figured it's never too late to try it out.” James’s face lit up with excitement. 

“Awesome lets go! There’s literally no one better to teach you than us!” But Fred threw up his arm to stop James from passing by.

“I don’t think so superstar! I’m not teaching her the basics with you watching her every move, she’ll be terrified.” James’s face fell at Freds words but when he looked to me I shrugged. 

“I did just see you on a magazine cover. That’s kind’ve intimidating in itself.” 

James finally gave in when Sanders suggested they should go to visit the gamekeeper Hagrid instead. He was a friend of the family apparently. But that didn’t stop him from pouting the whole walk back to the castle.

 

\-- 

 

I didn't have any gear for Quidditch, so Dom let me borrow hers. I quickly changed into the form fitting padded leggings and a lightweight shirt that had a charm to wick moisture off of you. 

“I’m going to have to make you a pair of those.” Dom announced when I’d come of of the bathroom.

“Yeah, I knew you had a nice figure, but damn girl.” Liz piped up happily.

“You guys can say I've got a big butt.. I know it.” I admitted with a laugh. “But I’m too much of a sucker for food to give it up.” Dom arched her brown at me in disbelief. 

“Listen girl. I’m not sure what the beauty standards in Africa are, but that’s not a normal butt.” She motioned to my backside in the mirror. “That's a butt that guys here are going to swoon over.”

I looked in the mirror again and shrugged. I guess beauty standards were a bit different here. I was always considered a bit overweight because of my butt. 

“Well I guess I'm going to need a pair of these leggings. I’m not wearing anything else for the rest of the year.” I announced in a serious tone. Dom laughed but shook her head.

“I won’t allow you to do that, but I can make you a few pairs of high top jeans that will have the same effect.” She said while tapping her chin thoughtfully.

“Deal!” 

We headed down from our dorm and met with the boys in the common room. Dom and Liz left us at the stairwell for the library as the boys and I made our way to the grounds.

“We’ll see you guys later!” I yelled, waving to James and Sander as they headed towards the Gamekeepers Hut on the other side of the grounds. 

“He’s so mad at us.” Fred laughed as we watched them leave.

“He’ll be alright."

We made our way to the pitch and Fred left me to grab our supplies. He came back clutching two brooms under one arm and a sturdy wooden chest in the other.

“Okay. Let's do this! The basics of Quidditch!” He exclaimed as he handed me a broom and opened the chest on front of us. 

“Each team has 7 players. There are 3 Chasers, who are responsible for scoring points with the Quaffle. That’s this one.” Fred pointed to a large leather ball in the center. 

“Points are scored by getting the Quaffle through one of the three hoops on the opposite side of the pitch. The Keeper, guards the posts. There are two bludgers. That’s these ones.” He pointed to two medium sized balls that were squirming against the tight chains holding them in place. 

“They fly around the pitch and attack players randomly. The two Beaters have to direct them with clubs away from their team members and towards the opposite team.” I nodded in understanding. 

“The last player is the Seeker. And all the Seeker has to do is focus on the Snitch. This one right here.” He opened a small flap in the lid of the box and revealed a tiny golden ball. 

“Super hard to find and wicked fast. The Seeker has to find and catch the Snitch, which is worth 150 points. When the Snitch is caught the game ends.” He stood and beamed at me.

“Seems easy enough to understand.” I told him as I reached for the Quaffle. “So what do you want to show me first?"

“First let's get you in the air and toss the Quaffle around. Make sure you can handle multitasking before letting a bludger loose on you.” I shot him a worried look and he laughed. 

“I’m joking! I’m not going to make you hit a bludger right off the bat. But I am going to make you toss the Quaffle so get going.” Fred then mounted his broom and kicked off. 

Still holding the Quaffle under my arm I did the same. Bringing myself to his level about twenty feet above the ground.

“How about I guard the posts while you try to shoot?” Fred offered, flying over to the nearest set of posts.

“Sure!” I waited until Fred was in position before leaning down and rushing forward on my broom. Heading for the left post Fred immediately swerved to block it but at the last moment I rolled and shot the Quaffle through the right hoop instead.

“What the hell was that!?” Fred shouted looking dumbstruck. I gave him an innocent smile and leaned sideways, lazily rolling my broom again.

“Brooms are a great way of locating or chasing magical beasts. I’m actually quite skilled on one.” 

“Alright then. You play Keeper! I’ll do the scoring!” Fred huffed. I agreed and we switched positions. 

Once Fred realized he didn’t need to show me as many basics as he’d planned we fell into a lazy back and forth. He would try to score and when I caught the Quaffle we’d switch and I’d try to score. It was simple and quite fun as Fred was a beater and wasn’t very good at scoring or guarding. 

“You know I’m not normally this bad. I think you’re just actually quite good at protecting the posts.” Fred finally admitted after I informed him that he had yet to score.

“Really? Are you sure you’re not just bad at it?”  I asked with a smirk.

"Fred shot me a look and gave a fake laugh to humor me.

“Well let’s find out if I’m really just that bad or of you’re really just that good.” I arched my brow in confusion as he turned on his broom and yelled. “Hey James! Get up here! Let’s play a few drills!”

I looked towards the ground but didn’t see anyone.

“James isn’t here..” I reminded him. But movement by one of the towers caught my eye. “Oh nevermind.. James is here.” 

James had just stepped out from behind a tower looking plenty guilty. He gave a slight wave and smiled innocently as we flew down to meet him.

“Heeyyy guys..” he greeted us meekly.

“Just shut up and get your broom.” Fred said with an eye roll and James happily obliged.

After thirty more minutes of blocking the Quaffle from both boys James had started to become very excited.

“I have to admit I was a bit worried we weren’t going to be able to find a Keeper to replace Jones.” James shouted excitedly to Fred after I blocked a particularly good shot from him.

“Woah! I’m not replacing anyone!” I exclaimed.

“Yes you are! You’re going to be our new Keeper!”

“James I’ve never even seen a match before! I can’t play!”

“You’ll see the first one you play in, no big deal.” He shrugged and Fred nodded.

I sighed heavily. “I’m not going to have a say in this am I?”

“Nope! Welcome to the team. I’ll be your Capitan!”

I grumbled as we landed our brooms and placed the Quaffle back in the box but I didn’t fight the matter anymore. I figured I could go to the first few practices and decide then if I hated it.   
  


\----------

 

We made our way back to the tower and I headed upstairs to change. Leaving Fred to lecture Sander for letting James sneak off. Apparently Hagrid had been in the middle of class so they told him they’d see him in a few hours for our class. Sander lost track of James after that.

I changed back into my jeans and blouse and sat quietly on my bed as Dom raked her fingers through my hair. Lecturing me for messing it up. 

Just before 2 o’clock we headed down to the Care of Magical Creatures Hut on the far side of the grounds. 

“So the whole forest is forbidden?” I asked as we neared the treeline.

“Yep, unless you've got Hagrid with you.” Sanders replied.

“And Hagrid is out professor?”

“Well yeah, he's also the Groundskeeper so he manages the forest. Most of the creatures know him well and don't see him as a threat.” 

“Or food.” Fred piped in. 

We came over a hill and at the bottom was a large round house covered in vines standing right at the edge if the forest. Outside was a large man with a huge smile on his face as he watched us approach. “Boys! I'm glad ter see ya!”

“Well of course Hagrid. You don't think we'd drop our favorite teacher!” Fred yelled as he quickened his pace, meeting the Professor with a hug. Fred was a tall boy, but he barely reached Hagrid's chest. 

“Wow. He’s huge..” I muttered and Sanders leaned down to whisper, “He’s half giant.” laughing when my eyes lit up with excitement. “Really!?” James nodded beside me and I let out a squeal.

No wonder all the creatures of the forest accepted him. Magical creatures tended to respect one another. 

I could already tell I was going to love this class.

A few other students came straggling in after us. Two hufflepuffs named Ernie and Simon. A Slytherin boy named Nath and a tall Ravenclaw not who didn't introduce himself, he simply looked at me like I was bothering him. 

_ Nice to meet you to twat.. _

“Alrigh kids. This year is going ter be nothing like the las’ couple. We're moving on from yer everyday beast and moving into the rare and more mysterious ones!” At that Hagrid motioned for us to follow him as he made his way towards a small path behind his hut that led into the forest.

“We'll be learnin how ter handle ourselves around timid an flighty creatures who aren't used ter being seen. And we'll be studyin the usefulness of each creature and what it can offer the magical world. Sometimes the least expecting creature can offer the most unique o’ things.” 

We were a ways in the woods now and Hagrid stopped to face us on the trail. “Take the deadly Parsons Pit.” He motioned casually to a large tree trunk that had been caged in with a few of the surrounding trees.

“Can flatten itself completely an has an undetectable camouflage until it's too late. It's bite can kill a full grown Wompus in one hour. But a single drop o’ it's blood can cure blindness for 24 hours.”

I smirked. We'd collected hundreds of them on our travels, taking blood samples to be sent off to Mungos for medical treatment.

“Anyone know how ter spot one?”  Hagrid asked hopefully.

Looking around everyone was staring wide eyed at the tree. It looked like they were trying to play the worlds toughest game of Where's Waldo. But the viper was impossible to spot with the naked eye.  

“Reflectorus” I muttered while holding two fingers out flat in front of me. A large wispy mirror appeared in front of me, showing my reflection. I carefully turned my hand over and the mirror slowly turned as well. Stopping once it  faced the tree. 

The trees trunk slowly began to tremble, the bark sliding sideways and suddenly the slithering bark morphed to a bright neon green. 

The viper was huge, and was stretching out towards the mirror as if it was being summoned. 

“They're obsessed with their own reflections. But not even they can see through their camouflage.” I reached out and waved my hand in between the viper and the mirror. The snake never moved. “They enter a sort of trance when they finally see themselves. So this is also when they are most vulnerable.”

Hagrid clapped his massive hands together. “Very good girl! Twenty points ter Gryffindor!”

Sander shoved my shoulder playfully as we continued down the path.

“Show off.”

We finally reached a large spacious clearing full of small hills. Hagrid turned back to us with his arms spread wide.

“Well here we are! Our first lesson of the semester.” Everyone began glancing around for whatever magical beast Hagrid was showing us but he ignored them.

“There's an expansion charm in place here. This field just seems like a small clearing from the air.”

“Professor, what are those?” Ernie asked pointing to a large hole in the side of one of the hills.

“Those are the homes o’ the one of the most reclusive creatures there are. And it's your job ter care for ‘em fer the next few weeks.”

“There are two main clusters of ‘em. One here in the hills an ‘nother up the way ‘ere in a separate clearing. You're going ter split into groups o’ four an it'll be yer job ter look after ‘em. Your main goal will be ter figure out what it is that's so special about ‘em an harvest it. You can always refer to the library or yer textbooks for help. The path ‘ere is charmed to be unseen from the rest of the forest so don’ worry about coming ‘ere withou’ me. You'll be fine. Alrigh’ split up an I'll take the second group.”

The boys glanced at each other and took a few steps towards me so that we were all standing close together.

Hagrid chuckled. He had obviously known the Gryffindors weren't going to split up. 

“Alrigh’ now. The rest o’ you lot. Follow me.” Waving for the second group to follow him Hagrid led them further up the path towards the second pasture.

“Soo any clue what these are?” Fred asked looking to Sander.

“Well-” he began only to be cut off my my squeal.

“They're mooncalves!” I exclaimed as I ran up the nearest hill. Sanders chuckled behind me before continuing. “Yeah, they only come out with the moon and they're not very fond of people.”

Standing on top of the hill I turned to face the boys again. “Are you guys ready?” Fred and James looked at eachother.

“For what exactly?” Fred asked.

“ _ Tenebrous Maximus _ !” I shouted raising my wand high into the air. The light from the surrounding area was suddenly sucked inward, towards my wand. And within seconds we were surrounded by darkness.  

“Merlin's beard!” One of the boys yelled from below.

Squinting through the blackness I could see Sander walking up the hill towards me. 

“ _ Lumos _ ” He whispered, holding his wand out between us. A bright light ignited at the top of his wand. Illuminating a small area around us.

“ _ Wingardium leviosa _ ” 

I gave my wand a flick and plucked his from him. Lifting it until it hovered high above us in the air. His wand tip shone brightly, like an artificial moon.

“Now we wait.” I said before taking a seat on the hill.

The boys spread out around me but we didn't have to wait long. 

Within a few minutes we began to hear shuffling from the burrow closest to us.  A moment later two wide eyes emerged from the burrow, staring directly into the light from the wand. 

The rest of the creature followed slowly. It consisted of a long neck attached to a small fluffy body and four sturdy legs. It's large flat hooves pressing hard into the ground. 

A glance around the pasture showed us multiple sets of wide eyes. All transfixed on the light. 

James watched as a mooncalf near him stared, fixated on the wandlight. “So now that we know what they are, we just need to figure out what they need and what we can use them for.”

“Pretty much. And ideas you two?” Fred asked looking to Sander and myself.

“If I'm not mistaken Mooncalves are known for destroying wheat fields, I'm pretty sure it's because they like it.” I said looking to Sander for confirmation. 

He nodded. “Yeah and their dung is a serious magical plant fertilizer. All we have to do is collect it during the full moon.”

Fred clapped his hands together happily. “Well that's easy enough. We'll go visit Professor Longbottom and see if we can get some wheat seed.”

“That'll work. I know a good spell to speed the growth.” Sanders said as I slowly levitated his wand back down to him. 

“Alright then. Let's go.” I said before making my way down the hill.

“Don't you want to turn the sun back on? It's kind of weird that it's night time at noon.” James asked as we headed back down the path.

“No the calves enjoy the dark, and it'll wear off in the next half hour or so.” I shrugged.

We headed back to the castle and visited Professor Longbottom. After explaining our new pet project he happily gave us a large supply of wheat seeds. 

Apparently Hagrid had informed him that students may come asking for it so he had stocked up. And within half a day we had a nice plot of wheat for our new friends to enjoy. 

 

\-------

 

By the end of the first week the boys and I had set up a routine. Every afternoon two of us would make the walk out to our patch in the woods and tend to the calves and their field. 

They were a destructive bunch. 

At night they would exit their burrows and graze the wheat field. However since their hooves were the size of dinner plates and completely flat they managed to squash any wheat they didn't eat. So every day we would come out and refresh their food plot. 

Today however I’d come alone. Sanders had been my partner for tending to the calves. But he was currently serving detention for casting a jelly legs curse on a Slytherin during potions. I wasn't mad. The kid deserved it. 

I'd already refreshed the wheat that had been flattened the night prior and decided to enjoy the sun before heading back to the castle. 

I was laid back on one of the grassy hills with my eyes closed when I heard footfalls coming up the hill. A moment later I felt someone sit in the grass beside me. 

“Did Sanders stand you up again?”

I hummed in reply, my eyes still closed and James laughed. 

“How about we switch partners. You and I can take the odd days and Fred and Sander can have the even days. I promise not to stand you up.” 

“I don't mind really, the calves are easy creatures.” I explained, not wanting Sanders to feel bad.

“Okay how about this, I'd like to switch on the pretense that I need to hang out with someone besides Fred once in a while.” I open my eyes to look at him and he cocked his head waiting for my response.

“Are you sure you don't just want to hang out with me and Fred is just an innocent scapegoat?” I questioned playfully.

“Absolutely not. I'd rather spend time with the giant squid.” He replied matter of factly.

His face was so serious it took a second of me staring at him in bewilderment before he finally laughed and I realised he was joking. I shoved his shoulder and he fell back on the grass beside me.

“Alright fine. We can switch. But you have to tell the boys since it was your idea.” He hummed in response and we fell into a comfortable silence. Watching the clouds overhead pass slowly by. 

 

\--

 

The feeling of a soft nose nuzzling my cheek woke me some time later. Groggily opening my eyes I was immediately aware of a few things. One, a mooncalf was chewing a lock of my hair. Two, it was dark out. And three it was  _ WAY _ to dark out. We were bound to get detention if we got caught out on the grounds now.

“James!” I sat up quickly grabbing his arm and shaking him in a panic. James bolted up and looked around startled.

“James do you have any idea what time it is!?” I squeaked as my voice cracked.

James looked around, straining his eyes to see in the dark. Most of the mooncalves we're already out of their burrows. Grazing lazily on their wheat. He glanced up at the moon in the sky, high enough to tell us it was well past dinner time. And finally he looked at me, staring for a moment before suddenly bursting out in laughter. 

I watched him in bewilderment. Thinking he had obviously lost his touch with reality. And then suddenly I was laughing too. I had no idea why our situation seemed so funny all of the sudden but it did. 

“If we don't get back soon Dom is going to tear the castle apart looking for me.” My face hurt from how hard I'd been laughing and I could swear James had a tear rolling down his cheek.

“Nah, Fred will have told her I was missing as well. She'll know your safe.” He wiped at the tear on his face. “Merlin I'm crying!”

“Oh yeah I feel much safer now.” I said flatly. James pouted and I smirked innocently before climbing to my feet. James did the same and we started back down the hill. Stopping only to say goodbye to a particularly friendly mooncalf we'd named Kevin.

The path back out of the forest was pitch black. Hagrid had said the path was enchanted to be unseen by anything in the forest but it didn't make it any less creepy. 

James lit his wand and I held on to his shirt as he led us down the path. Everything was going well until a branch snapped loudly behind us. James was startled so badly he grabbed my hand and ran the rest of the way down the path. 

When we got to the end I could barely breathe I was laughing so hard. 

“Are you sure you're the one protecting me!?” I gasped clutching my sides and trying to catch my breath. 

“I  _ was _ protecting you! Who knows what kind of creature that was!?” 

“Yeah yeah. Let's get going.”

We made our way back to the castle and carefully navigated the corridors to keep from getting caught. We had missed dinner and my stomach was growling but I was more worried about getting back to the tower.

When we finally reached the portrait hole we were running. Filch had just rounded a corner behind us and was too close for comfort so we decided to run the last leg of the corridor. 

We burst through the portrait hole and fell to a heap on the other side laughing hysterically. 

“Where have you two been!?” Doms voice broke our laughter and we both looked up sheepishly to find her standing over us. She didn't look amused by our antics.

“We uh…” James started.

“Well you see..” I tried again.

We glanced to each other.

"We fell asleep.” I finally admitted and I could have sworn I'd seen Doms blue eyes flash red for a split second.

“You fell asleep!?” She bellowed. “WHERE!?” 

“Well I was taking care of the calves and James came out to help and we took a break.. and we fell asleep.” I explained hastily.

She cocked a brow at me. 

“I'm sorry for worrying you! But I'm fine. Promise.”

She smiled before turning to James with a much less caring expression.

“ _ You _ .” She said pointedly. “Do  **NOT** get Aria involved into one of your moronic prank schemes. If she ends up getting in trouble with Filch because of you three I'm going to jinx each one of you.” 

“This wasn't a prank! I was trying to help!” James pleaded.

“You've been warned Potter!” She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the stairs before yelling back. “You too Weasley, Scamander!” And I saw them both nod fervently before Dom pulled me around the corner of the stairwell.

 

\-----

  
  
  



End file.
